Pros:
Pros: Easy to navigate with your legs and your discs.
Great tee pads and signs. MANY new pin placements! Extremely versatile course!
Neither intimidating to new players nor boring for avid players. 3 minutes from I-4.
Cons:
No restrooms or water...yet. Although word has just come down that there will be a pavilion in 2014 and water may follow. Not certain about future restrooms. White tee pads could be longer. (Both sets of tees are 5'x10')
Oil company owns easement through park and 2 power lines also cut through.
The #7 'white' tee is carpet because it sits in easement where no 'permanent' equipment is allowed.
Park is in 2nd lowest grid in the county, so there may be standing water in the rainy season. Gortex is your friend.
Other Thoughts:
It's a fairly rare opportunity for disc golf to be the first amenity in a park. Such is the case with River City Nature Park. The parks director had played and when he visited the Innova booth at the Florida Recreation and Parks Association convention, he understood that disc golf would be the perfect inexpensive way to utilize the land without developing it. Not a single living tree was cut in the construction of this course.
Located halfway between Orlando and Daytona, RCNP perfectly bridges that gap.
Course design by 87 PDGA champ, Gregg Hosfeld of World Champion Disc Golf Design. All 18 were designed up front, but the 'best' entry level 9-holes were installed first to introduce disc golf to the area.
The first 9, installed in 2008, featured two sets of very grippy concrete tee pads at the red and white levels with only 1 pin position. Phase two was installed in 2013 by the newly formed DeBary Disc Golf Club according to the original design. All of the hole #s changed, other than hole #1, and many new pin positions were added. Well balanced but can lean toward a lefty or righty-flick bias.
25 new oaks and magnolia trees, along with brand new tee signs were added in November 2013 prior to RCNP's 1st sanctioned event. Extra 'temp' holes were added. The park has enough room for a 2nd 18 hole course.
Although an avid player can expect to be putting for "birdie" on most holes from the short (red) tees, the longer "white" tees stretch out enough to give an advanced player a bit more of a challenge. Designed to stress basic disc golf skills, RCNP will rarely punish a well-executed throw. All holes have at least one par 3 position, and 6 can play as par 4s. Longer "Blue" tees were designed into many holes, but longer pin positions and budget may preclude their phase-3 installation.
Located within eyeshot of the St. John's river, RCNP-DGC is a compact 18-holer with a fairly intuitive flow. From the red tees a duo can expect to complete the track within an hour. A wide variety of flora, including pines, palms and live oaks provide shade as well as a reminder of how Florida once was. Keep an eye out for the wild turkeys & deer that roam the property.
You shouldn't need GPS to navigate this track. This is one of the better "signed" courses in Florida. "Next-tee" directional signs after many holes and beautiful full color tee signs on every tee will give you more info than you need, since they list a "Nex-T" arrow and all pin positions, including those to be installed at a later date. There are anywhere from 3 to 11 pin positions per hole.
Hole #1 is a wide-open, "welcome" hole that looks easier than it plays, with 4 pin positions.
Hole #2 is an easy enough par 4 (from proper tee) that crosses a stream with a wide landing zone and takes a sharp left. A well-executed drive provides a run at an eagle and all but insures a birdie-3. There are 4 pin positions including a par 3 position.
Hole #3 is a left to right tunnel with the land sloping down to the left, with a scenic view of a swamp attached to the St. John's river. 3 PP's
#4's two tees are equidistant from pins, but approach from different angles. A short hole demanding accuracy. 3 PP's. Long pin allows hyzer bomb over "schule".
#5 is the shortest hole on the course, but can be tricky in the C (long) position.
3 PP's.
Hole #6 is wide open with 2 PP's bordering the right side hedge, set just a few feet from a creek. DON'T GO RIGHT on your drive! C PP is long and open, to air it out.
Hole #7 has 7 PP's and has FIVE par 4 positions ranging from EASY to BEOTCH! Long PP's must go over OB 'dry-swamp' for a run at birdie. It also has two par 3 positions ("B" was a mistake)
Hole #8 has 3 anhyzer par 3 PP's and a longer par 4 PP. Another swampy OB area can come into play for the aggressive driver.
Hole #9 is a hyzer to one of FOUR PP's under what was once the oldest and coolest of the live oaks at RCNP.
Hole #10 offers a straight tunnel under the oak boughs or a loftier left to right shot while never leaving the tree canopy. 4 PP's
Hole #11 is a fairly open straight shot that could find trouble to the left. A wider hyzer option is available from the white tee. C PP requires a well-placed hyzer. 3 PP's.
Hole #12 has two very diverse tees and was the only par 4 in the first phase. The red tee offers both hyzer and "annie" angles to an open area that should provide a shot into the liberal gap through the woods to the pin. And although the pin rests at a "reachable" 380', going for it is usually a sucker-bet, with a bogie in waiting.
The white tee offers no such reward. A strong, slow right turn to the opening should provide the follow-up shot to attack the pin. A "back-door" line requires well-placed landing for attack on green to C PP. 3 PP's.
Hole #13 ranges from par 3 to a short 5. Park the par 3 PP and you'll have an open line to the par 4 PP's. The par 5 requires at least 2 excellent shots for a look at an eagle. 5 PP's.
#14's trapezoidal tee pads allow run-ups from various angles, which is good because this hole has ELEVEN PP'S going off of 3 different fairways.
Hole #15's well-protected pins can be reached with a low-n-slow-turning left to right shot or a big arching right to left spike.
Hole #16's natural tunnel allows for straight or hyzer lines to 3 PP's and one (that I didn't want) on a slight right fade... and no green area at all.
Hole #17 is a signature tunnel shot through the oaks. A reverse view of the fairway reveals 5 oaken arches. 3 PP's. Short but precise.
Hole #18 brings you back to the parking area with an open shot with two pins 20 just beyond 4 well divided palms that look as if they are the living embodiment of the ATT "more bars in more places" commercials. 5 PP's.
Newer players are likely to enjoy "more pars in more places" on River City Nature Park's disc golf course than most other Florida courses. Parks dept offers rental discs (at their office in another park)
DeBary Disc Golf Club leagues: Handicaps Saturday evenings. Doubles Monday evenings.